Air relief valve assembly

ABSTRACT

A valve for venting air from the pumping chamber of a liquid pumping system. A valve plate is normally held in open position remote from the valve seat by a spring. A flexible diaphragm is attached to the valve plate and divides the valve housing into a through passage and a chamber which communicates with the inlet port of the valve. The valve seat-valve plate arrangement defines a venturi region in the through passage of the valve. Under low pressure, low volume flow conditions, the valve remains in open position. As the flow rate increases, the decrease in pressure across the venturi together with the increased pressure in the chamber behind the diaphragm overcomes the spring pressure to close the valve.

United States Patent 1191 C'onery et al.

1 1 May 15, 1973 [54] AIR RELIEF VALVE ASSEMBLY FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS lnvenwrsl William J y; Donald Kaes- 106,850 9 1924Switzerland ..251 45 both of Ashland, Ohio 624,218 2/1936 Germany ..25145 [73] Assignee: Hydr-O-Matic Pump Company, I

fl in Ohig Primary Examiner-J'lenry T. Klinksiek AssistantExaminer-Robert J. Miller [22] Filed. Apr. 8, 1971 Artorney-Oldhfitm &Oldham [21] Appl No.: 132,423

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. ..137/498, 137/505.13, 251/45, A valve forVenting air from the pumping chamber of 251/54 a liquid pumping system.A valve plate is normally [51] Int. Cl ..Fl6k 31/12 held in openposition remote from the valve seat by a [58] Field of Search ..l37/498,502, 500,

spring. A flexible diaphragm is attached to the valve 137/4844, 484.6,484.8,505.32, 484.2, I t d th l h t th h 505.13,460, 495,494,49?;251/45, 36, 54, Pa e 68 Va 15mg f 3 f 24, 48, 61 611 615 passage anda chamber which communicates with the inlet port of the valve. The valveseat-valve plate ar- 56' References Cited rangement defines a venturiregion in the through passage of the valve. Under low pressure, lowvolume UNITED STATES PATENTS flow conditions, the valve remains in openposition. As 1,621,910 3 1927 Thomson 61 al. .251 45 x the flow rateincreases, the decrease in pressure across 984,874 2/1911 Winton..251/54 X the venturi together with the increased pressure in the i Xchamber the diaphragm overcomes the pring 2,219,408 10/1940 Benz etal.... ...l37/505.13 X pressure to close the valve 2,623,331 12/1952Greening ..l37/498 X 8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures y 1 VI/ r /'7 (r i :362 "3 32 *1 66 K 56\ F We 58 J /52 1 so 54 6 O i.

PATENTEDMY 1 5l973 FIG.

FIG.

INVENTORS WILLIAM J. CONERY BY DONALD A. KAESSEN OLDHAM 8 OLDHAMATTORNEYS AIR RELIEF VALVE ASSEMBLY In impeller type pumps, the presenceof air in the pumping chamber can prevent priming of the pump. This isespecially true when the pump must operate against a substantial backpressure. In such situations, some means must be provided to vent theair from the pump chamber. Such means may include manually controlledvalves or other externally controlled automatic valves. Sucharrangements are inefficient as they require either the presence of anoperator or control systems.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an airrelief valve for a pump which is automatic in its operation and which isself contained, requiring no external control.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an air relief valvewhich provides reliable operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an air relief valvefor a pump which is of simple and trouble free design.

The above and other objects of the invention which will become apparentin the following detailed description are achieved by providing an airrelief valve assembly which consists essentially of a valve housinghaving inlet and outlet ports and a valve seat, a valve plate adapted tomate with the valve seat to close the valve, a stem connected to thevalve plate and extending away from the valve seat, spring means fornormally urging the valve stem and valve plate into an open positionremote from the valve seat, and a flexible diaphragm connected to thevalve casing and to the valve plate to divide the interior of the valvecasing into a through chamber across the valve seat and a blind chambercommunicating only with the inlet port of the valve.

For a more complete understanding of the invention and the objects andadvantages thereof, reference should be had to the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawing wherein there is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a sump pump arrangementemploying the air relief valve of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air relief valve of the presentinvention, showing the valve in its closed position.

One use of the air relief valve of the present invention is inconjunction with a sump pumping arrangement of a sewage system. Such anarrangement is designated generally by the reference numeral in FIG. 1and includes a sump 12 which serves to collect sewage or other liquid.An impeller type pump 14 driven by a motor 16 has an inlet means 18 fordrawing liquid from the sump 12 and discharging the same through adischarge pipe 20 which may, for example, be connected to a dischargemain 21 of a sewage system. The motor 16 and pump 14 can be supported orpositioned in the sump in any known manner. The system includes a checkvalve 22 to prevent the reverse flow of sewage or other liquid from themain 21 into the sump 12. The motor 16 is operated by suitable controls,not shown, which may consist of a level actuated switch which starts themotor 16 whenever the liquid level in the sump l2 rises beyond apredetermined upper level and stops the motor 16 whenever the liquidlevel drops below a predetermined lower level. In the event thepartially filled with air when the pump is not operating, the pump 14would not be self priming when it is next started up. The combination ofthe check valve 22 and the back pressure in the main 21 producesubstantial back pressure on the discharge line 20 of the pump 14 toprevent the expulsion of the air entrapped in the pumping chamber. Inorder to overcome this difficulty, the present invention provides an airrelief valve 24 which is connected by a suitable conduit 26 to thedischarge port of the pump 14 as is the pipe 20. The valve 24 may beprovided with a discharge pipe 28 for returning any fluid passingthrough the valve 24 to the sump 12. As will be explained in more detailbelow, the valve I 24 is held in an open position until sufficientpressure is built up by the discharge of the pump 14 to close the valve.Thus, the valve 24 permits the complete venting of any air from thepumping chamber of the pump 14 but then automatically closes and remainsclosed while the pump is operating.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the structure and operation of the air reliefvalve of the present invention will be described. A valve casing 34 hasan inlet port 32 for connection to the conduit 26 and an outlet port 34for connection to the discharge pipe 28. Intermediate the inlet andoutlet ports 32 and 34, respectively, the valve casing 30 is formed todefine a valve seat 36. The wall of the valve casing opposite the valveseat 36 is provided with an opening 38 in which is mounted a valve headassembly designated generally by the reference numeral 40. The valvehead assembly 40 includes a housing 42 which is secured to the valvecasing 30 by cap screws or bolts 44. A sealing ring 46 is provided toassure a fluid tight seal between the valve casing 30 and the valve headassembly housing 42. Slidably received within the housing is a stem 48which carries'a valve head 50 at its inner end. The valve head 50 is ofcomplementary configuration to the valve seat 36. Also secured to theinner end of the stem or rod 48 is a flexible diaphragm 52 which isretained between the valve head 50 and a backing plate 54 at the innerend of the stem 48. The outer edge of the flexible diaphragm 52 issecured to an annular wall 56 which projects into the cavity of thevalve casing 30 from the housing 42. A retaining ring 58 and screws 60secure the outer end of the diaphragm to the end of the annular wall 56.The annular wall 56 is provided with an opening 62 which communicateswith the inlet port 32 of the valve casing 30. The diaphragm 52 andannular wall 56 thus divide the interior of the valve casing into athrough chamber 64 extending from the inlet port 32 across the valveseat 36 to the outlet port 34 and a blind chamber 66 which communicatesonly with the inlet port 32 through the opening 62 in the annular wall56. The upper end of the stem 48 carries a piston 68 which is receivedin a bore 70 of the housing 42. The outer end of the bore 70 is closedby an end cap or plug 72. A coil spring 74 is positioned between thepiston 68 and the inner end'of the bore 70 to normally force the stem 48and the valve head 50 away from the valve seat 36. The bore 70 issubstantially filled with oil and the piston 68 is provided with a smalldiameter through bore 76. Thus, the piston 68 and the bore 70 form adash pot to dampen or slow the movement of the stem 48 andof the valvehead 50 toward or away from the valve seat 36.

When the pump 14 is not operating, there is no pressure in the line 26or in the inlet 32 of the air relief valve 24. Under these conditions,the spring 74 forces the valve head 50 to its open position. When thepump 14 is started, air and liquid will first be forced through theconduit 26 to the valve 24 since there is less resistance in this paththan is encountered through the main discharge pipe 20, the check valve22, and the main 21. Since the valve 24 is open, the initial flow fromthe pump 14 will be through the valve 24 to the discharge pipe 28 andreturning to the sump 12. As was pointed out above, the valve seat 36and valve head 50 define a venturi in the flow path from the valve inlet32 to the valve outlet 34. Thus, as liquid flow through the valveincreases a pressure reduction across the valve head 50 occurs. At thesame time, fluid is entering the blind chamber 60 behind the flexiblediaphragm 52. As a result, there is increased pressure on the back sideof the flexible diaphragm 52. The combination of these two pressures ordifferentials eventually becomes sufficient to overcome the biasingforce of the spring 74 and the valve head 50 is thus moved toward thevalve seat 36.

The movement of the piston 68 is restrained, however,

by the flow of oil through the small passage 76 so that the closing ofthe valve is gradual, allowing sufficient time for complete venting ofair from the chamber of the pump 14. Once the valve 24 is closed and aslong as the pump continues to operate the valve remains in its closedposition since liquid under pressure from the pump is supplied to theblind chamber 66 and hence to the entire rear side of the flexiblediaphragm 52 while that portion of the front side of the diaphragm 52and the discharge side of the through chamber 64 is under no pressure.

The valve 24 is a self contained unit, requiring no external controls.Since-the flow stream through the valve is across both the valve seat 36and the valve head 50, there is no buildup of debris on these componentsand the valve is self cleaning.

While only the best known embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described in detail, the invention is not so limited.Reference should therefore be had to the appended claims in determiningthe true scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An air relief valve for use with a pumping system to vent air fromthe pumping chamber, comprising:

a casing having inlet and outlet ports, a chamber connecting the ports,and a valve seat intermediate the inlet and outlet ports and extendingtransversely of the fluid flow path between the ports;

a valve head adapted to be brought into engagement with the valve seatto block fluid flow between the inlet and outlet ports;

a rod connected at one end to the valve head and slidably received inthe casing for movement toward and away from the valve seat;

a flexible diaphragm connected at its periphery to the casing and at itscenter to the valve head, the diaphragm dividing the chamber into afirst chamber communicating with the inlet and outlet ports andextending across the valve seat and a second chamber communicating onlywith the inlet port; and

the casing being contoured in the area of the valve seat so as to form,in conjunction with the valve head and the flexible diaphragm, a venturiregion across the valve seat.

2. A valve comprising:

a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports and a chamber connectingthe ports;

a valve seat formed on a wall of the chamber, intermediate the inlet andoutlet ports, and extending transversely to the path of fluid flowbetween the P a valve head assembly adapted to engage the valve seat andmovable toward and away from the seat along a line generallyperpendicular to the fluid flow path;

'a flexible diaphragm connected to the valve head assembly and to thevalve casing, the diaphragm dividing the chamber into a throughchamber-communicating with the inlet and outlet ports when the valvehead member is out of engagement with the valve seat and into a secondchamber communicating with the inlet port only and on the opposite sideof the diaphragm from the valve seat; and

the casing being of such configuration in the region of the valve seatas to form in conjunction with the valve head assembly a venturi regionin the fluid flow path across the valve seat.

3. A valve comprising:

a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports and a chamber connectingthe ports;

a valve seat formed on a wall of the chamber, intermediate the inlet andoutlet ports, and extending transversely to the path of fluid flowbetween the P a valve head assembly adapted to engage the valve seat andmovable toward and away from the seat along a line generallyperpendicular to the fluid flow path;

a flexible diaphragm connected to the valve head assembly and to thevalve casing, the diaphragm dividing the chamber into a through chambercommunicating with the inlet and outlet ports when the valve head memberis out of engagement with the valve seat and into a second chambercommunicating with the inlet port only and on the opposite side of thediaphragm from the valve seat;

biasing means connected to the valve head assembly biasing the assemblyaway from the valve seat and including dampening means to control therate of movement of the valve head assembly; and

the valve head assembly comprises a valve head and a rod secured to thevalve head and extending therefrom in a direction generallyperpendicular to the fluid flow path, the diaphragm being connected tothe valve head assembly between the valve head and the rod, the rodbeing slidably received in the casing, and the biasing means includingspring means engaging the casing and the rod.

4. The valve according to claim 3 wherein the end of the rod remote fromthe valve head is received in a bore in the casing and wherein thedampening means comprises a piston connected to the remote end of therod, having sliding fluid-tight engagement with the walls of the bore,and having a small orifice extending through the piston, the bore beingsubstantially filled with a liquid.

5. The air relief valve according to claim 1 further including biasingmeans for normally holding the valve head away from the valve seat.

6. The air relief valve according to claim 5 further including dampeningmeans to regulate the rate of movement of the valve head toward thevalve seat.

7. The air relief valve according to claim 1 wherein the other end ofthe rod extends into a closed bore the casing is comprised of a firstcasing section having the inlet and outlet ports and the valve seat anda second casing section having the bore and receiving the valve head,rod, piston, spring means, and flexible diaphragm, the first and secondcasing sections being removably secured together.

1. An air relief valve for use with a pumping system to vent air fromthe pumping chamber, comprising: a casing having inlet and outlet ports,a chamber connecting the ports, and a valve seat intermediate the inletand outlet ports and extending transversely of the fluid flow pathbetween the ports; a valve head adapted to be brought into engagementwith the valve seat to block fluid flow between the inlet and outletports; a rod connected at one end to the valve head and slidablyreceived in the casing for movement toward and away from the valve seat;a flexible diaphragm connected at its periphery to the casing and at itscenter to the valve head, the diaphragm dividing the chamber into afirst chamber communicating with the inlet and outlet ports andextending across the valve seat and a second chamber communicating onlywith the inlet port; and the casing being contoured in the area of thevalve seat so as to form, in conjunction with the valve head and theflexible diaphragm, a venturi region across the valve seat.
 2. A valvecomprising: a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports and a chamberconnecting the ports; a valve seat formed on a wall of the chamber,intermediate the inlet and outlet ports, and extending transversely tothe path of fluid flow between the ports; a valve head assembly adaptedto engage the valve seat and movable toward and away from the seAt alonga line generally perpendicular to the fluid flow path; a flexiblediaphragm connected to the valve head assembly and to the valve casing,the diaphragm dividing the chamber into a through chamber communicatingwith the inlet and outlet ports when the valve head member is out ofengagement with the valve seat and into a second chamber communicatingwith the inlet port only and on the opposite side of the diaphragm fromthe valve seat; and the casing being of such configuration in the regionof the valve seat as to form in conjunction with the valve head assemblya venturi region in the fluid flow path across the valve seat.
 3. Avalve comprising: a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports and achamber connecting the ports; a valve seat formed on a wall of thechamber, intermediate the inlet and outlet ports, and extendingtransversely to the path of fluid flow between the ports; a valve headassembly adapted to engage the valve seat and movable toward and awayfrom the seat along a line generally perpendicular to the fluid flowpath; a flexible diaphragm connected to the valve head assembly and tothe valve casing, the diaphragm dividing the chamber into a throughchamber communicating with the inlet and outlet ports when the valvehead member is out of engagement with the valve seat and into a secondchamber communicating with the inlet port only and on the opposite sideof the diaphragm from the valve seat; biasing means connected to thevalve head assembly biasing the assembly away from the valve seat andincluding dampening means to control the rate of movement of the valvehead assembly; and the valve head assembly comprises a valve head and arod secured to the valve head and extending therefrom in a directiongenerally perpendicular to the fluid flow path, the diaphragm beingconnected to the valve head assembly between the valve head and the rod,the rod being slidably received in the casing, and the biasing meansincluding spring means engaging the casing and the rod.
 4. The valveaccording to claim 3 wherein the end of the rod remote from the valvehead is received in a bore in the casing and wherein the dampening meanscomprises a piston connected to the remote end of the rod, havingsliding fluid-tight engagement with the walls of the bore, and having asmall orifice extending through the piston, the bore being substantiallyfilled with a liquid.
 5. The air relief valve according to claim 1further including biasing means for normally holding the valve head awayfrom the valve seat.
 6. The air relief valve according to claim 5further including dampening means to regulate the rate of movement ofthe valve head toward the valve seat.
 7. The air relief valve accordingto claim 1 wherein the other end of the rod extends into a closed borewithin the casing, a piston having sliding, fluid-tight engagement withthe bore walls secured to said other end of the rod, the piston having asmall diameter orifice, the bore being substantially filled with aliquid, and including spring means for biasing the piston, rod and valvehead away from the valve seat.
 8. The air relief valve according toclaim 7 wherein the casing is comprised of a first casing section havingthe inlet and outlet ports and the valve seat and a second casingsection having the bore and receiving the valve head, rod, piston,spring means, and flexible diaphragm, the first and second casingsections being removably secured together.